GOP Benefactor Creates Vermont Super PAC

A wealthy Republican benefactor in Vermont has created what may be the biggest political action committee in state history, primarily through her own donations which have totaled $684,861 just in the last two months.

The committee, Vermonters First, was created by publicity-shy Lenore Broughton in August when she wrote her first donation of $100,000, according to the Burlington Free Press.

She followed that up with a $35,500 check a week later and the next day the PAC spent $98,200 buying "media placement services" in preparation for ad campaigns designed to help GOP candidates statewide.

So far, the PAC has spent $561,404 to buy tons of ads and to finance direct mail campaigns in support of a chosen candidates, including Wendy Wilton, the GOP nominee for state treasurer.

According to the Free Press, if the 74-year-old Broughton keeps it up, her PAC could change the course of this year's election in the state and the Vermont Republican Party, which some conservative Vermonters say has been barely hanging on.

Broughton was described Monday by the Free Press as a being a kind and generous woman who doesn't like publicity. But her interest in the Republican Party and specific issues runs deep.

For example, the newspaper noted that in the past she has supported programs with her money ranging from efforts to help the families of National Guard members serving in Afghanistan to raising awareness about radical Islam.

According to the Free Press, Broughton has also given more than a half million dollars to Republican candidates nationwide in the past, including Sen. John McCain and former President George W. Bush, and has supported other GOP causes as well.

A wealthy Republican benefactor in Vermont has created what may be the biggest political action committee in state history, primarily through her own donations which have totaled $684,861 just in the last two months.